Looking at ways to heat food and boil water from my camping adventures I already have a Campingaz Bleuet Cv 300 Stove Pz and found it to be sturdy and reliable with the added feature of Instastart ignition saves the hassle of fumbling around for a lighter or matches. They on offer @ Amaon for Â£12.90 at the moment so might actually pick up another one. However the obvious problem with this and other like it is that they require gas cylinders for fuel the cheapest i’ve found them is Â£3.99 each @ Halfords.

I also have 2 Campingaz Camp Bistro stoves and while i’ve had no problems with these i’ve had some of the cheaper branded ones and found them very hit and miss whether they’ll actually ignite or even stay lit, also the canister locking mechanism can be rubbish causing it not to seat properly resulting in gas or even flames everywhere.

On a preppers forum I found a link to a Gelert Solid Fuel Stove complete with 24 fuel tablets for Â£4.59 these have got to be worth it for the tablets alone so will be buying a couple of these and seeing how they fair.

Although more expensive the Esbit 985ml Stove and Cookset seems to come recommended with the added bonus it comes with 2 pots and can run on solid fuel or methylated spirits. I think this option could be well worth considering in the long run.

I have been thinking about 'prepping' for some time and have decided i'm going to make a start on it. While i'm not expecting a Zombie Apocalypse any time soon, with harsher winters approaching and the likelihood of power outages etc I think it's best to be in some way ready for such events.

I've been reading various websites and forums and some people seem to take it to the extreme with Bug out shelters, action plan drills and armoured vehicles I think I will take a more sedate approach. The plan is to store enough food and supplies to enable my family to survive until a more permanent solution can be found. Â

I don't have a budget to speak of so will add small extras to my weekly shop to stock supplies.Â